125 luxury vehicles found plying in Guj with out-of-state registration

Ahmedabad: The state transport department recently discovered that owners of expensive foreign-made vehicles, with a price tag of Rs 50 lakh or more, have been using cars registered in other states to circumvent Gujarat's steep road tax. The probe revealed that more than 125 such vehicles, including 25 luxury cars, are frequently serviced and driven within the state, despite being registered elsewhere.
Gujarat imposes a 12% road tax on foreign-made vehicles, significantly higher than the 6% charged in neighbouring states and Union territories. According to senior transport department officials, the department received a tip-off that foreign-made cars registered outside Gujarat were being routinely used in the state to circumvent this steep tax.
An investigation revealed 125 such vehicles were regularly brought to the service stations in the state.
Ahmedabad RTO J J Patel said, "We also got hold of their FasTag details. We zeroed in on 10 odd vehicles, which have been plying on the state roads for over three months and have already issued them notices. According to the rules, any vehicle which is used for three months or more in a particular state invites the RTO tax of that state."
According to the officials, for a vehicle priced at Rs 1 crore, the road tax charged is about Rs 12 lakh in Gujarat, but only Rs 6 lakh in other states and Union territories.
Not only high-end vehicles, but also many in the mid- and small segments are used in Gujarat are registered outside the state. To facilitate the registration of vehicles outside Gujarat, dealers often get them registered based on house rent agreements.
"While registering such high-end cars, one must check why a rent agreement is being used as address proof. The transport official must question why the owner of a car worth more than Rs 1 crore should provide a rent agreement," the officer said.